Trending Topics

Aggravated assault suspect bites Tenn. officer, attempts to choke K-9 before arrest

After a Memphis Police Department K-9 caught up with and bit the fleeing suspect, he tried to use the K-9’s chain collar to choke the dog

Tyre Nichols

A patch of the Memphis Police Department is seen during a meeting of the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission Thursday, May 18, 2023 in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

George Walker IV/AP

By Natalie Demaree
The Charlotte Observer

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Attempting to get away from law enforcement, a 31-year-old man bit an officer and choked a K-9, Tennessee police said.

A K-9 was called around 5:40 p.m. on Oct. 20 to help officers locate Tommie Williams, who jumped a fence and ran into the woods behind a church in Memphis while trying to evade arrest, the Memphis Police Department said in a news release shared with McClatchy News.

Williams had a warrant from Mississippi for aggravated assault, according to the release.

Police said he continued to be non-compliant after the K-9 tracked him down. The dog then bit him twice on his right arm.

Williams then grabbed the K-9 by his chain collar and started choking the dog, officers said. When an officer tried to intervene, Williams bit the officer’s hand.

Officers arrested Williams and took him to a hospital in non-critical condition.

He is charged with two counts of assault against a first responder, evading arrest on foot and resisting official detention, police said.

Williams was released Oct. 21 on a $7,500 bond and is set to appear in court Oct. 23, according to police records.

©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Trending
A Ranger helicopter crew was responding to assist the Flagstaff PD and other law enforcement agencies when it crashed, killing the pilot and the trooper/paramedic inside
Lee County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Rick Haggard, 52, served as the SRO for Shannon Elementary School
Patti Jackson has served as the Tacoma PD’s interim police chief since March 2025; she came to the agency from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, where she worked for over 35 years
Upon entering the home to respond to a man in crisis, the officers were immediately met with the man grabbing a knife from the kitchen and running at them